Brexit: “A 50-50% chance for a trade deal this year”

Dutch PM says there’s a ’50-50′ chance Britain will reach trade deal with the EU this year.

Brussels fears trade talks will hit the buffers early because Boris Johnson is making the same mistakes as Theresa May – with Dutch PM Mark Rutte putting the chances of a deal this year at “50-50”.

Eurocrats say early skirmishes ahead of the start of negotiations feel like “2017 all over again” with the PM laying down rigid red lines.

They are worried that he has adopted a series of tough positions he will struggle to move from and set an unrealistic timeframe for a deal.

Mr. Rutte warned there was a “risk that we might get to a cliff edge again” due to the deadline imposed by the PM.

And one senior EU source told The Sun: “They’re making a textbook repeat of the same mistakes.

“If a managed No Deal is the strategy, to try and put pressure on EU unity and force a series of sectoral agreements, once again it won’t work.”

Mr Johnson has taken a tough stance on diverging from Brussels rules and taking back Britain’s fishing waters that has alarmed EU officials.

“There’s a ’50-50′ chance Britain will reach trade deal with the EU this year” Mark Rutte

He has also ruled out extending the transition beyond the end of the year, leaving just eight months in which to negotiate a trade deal.

Member States are worried the PM will water down state aid, labour, and environmental laws to give UK firms a competitive edge over continental rivals.

But speaking in Davos, the Chancellor Sajid Javid tried to reassure EU chiefs that Britain “won’t diverge just for the sake of it” after Brexit.

Mr Johnson’s deal took a big step closer to being passed in Brussels as key MEPs backed its approval.

The Constitutional Affairs Committee voted by 23-3 in favour of the agreement – with Brexit Party member Rupert Lowe among those supporting it.

Source: TheSun